Monday, September 28, 2015

Free to Use Picture Resources for Book Trailers

When I first began making book trailers, I used pictures that I took myself.  This helped me so that I did not have to worry about copyright, etc.  However, when you want to make a trailer quickly, it helps tremendously to use pictures from other sources.  Below are great places to find images that are free to use, and the photographer has given express permission to use them.  You still need to give credit, but this can easily be done by providing a list of picture resources at the end of the trailer.  I encourage you to use these resources to find good images for your book trailers.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Out of my Mind     By: Sharon Draper
recommended by: Taylor H




Out of my Mind is about a girl named Melody with a big disadvantage. She was born with cerebral palsy. She can not do anything on her own, her parents have to help do everything for her. Like help her use the restroom, eat, and bathe but she can move her hands a little bit so she can point to letters on her wheelchair to talk. Melody is in the 8th grade and  in a special class for kids that have disabilities, but inside her head she is amazingly smart but doesn’t have any way of communicating it. Every morning she goes to her next door neighbors house and she takes her to school. Her neighbor Mrs. Valencia is a very important person in her life. One day Mrs. Valencia was on the computer and was looking at new wheelchairs for Melody. Melody saw a wheelchair that had a speaking device on it so she could talk through a computer hooked up to her wheelchair.  So Melody made the loudest noise she could to get Mrs. Valencia attention and it worked. The wheelchair came in the next week and everyone finally figured out how smart she was. She advanced to a higher 8th grade class where she was actually learning things. She got nominated to go out of state to compete in her classes science competition. Her and her class were all supposed to meet in the airport then go to the competition together, but once she got there they had all left. They all left because they didn’t think she would be good for them in the competition.

I loved this book because it was a true story and I loved that this was able to happen to Melody. This changed her life and this was probably the best thing that’s ever happened to her. She is able to speak everything that she knows and now she could be much more things when she gets older like a teacher or anything like that.

September Staff Picks

So, I am going to do something different than I have done before.  I am going to have some guest posts--the RMS library staff picks.  Every month, all library staff members will choose a book that is our staff pick of that month.  We will post reviews in the library, and I will post them here as well as other online places.  I think this will be fun for all involved.  Look for their staff picks coming soon to this blog near you.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

At first, there is only one dead body that looks remarkably similar to a case long ago put to rest by the FBI.  The serial killer is in prison. So, why does this crime look so much like all of those dead bodies from one of the most cold-blooded killers the country has ever seen?  And, this cold-blooded killer is the father of one of the teen members of the Naturals group formed by the FBI to catch criminals.  When one body turns into two and three, the authorities go to the original source, and he says he will help if he can talk to his son.  As the secrets are shown and the mystery gets more deranged, this group of teens knows that they are the only chance to stop these murders.  Will they stay safe long enough to do that?  Answer that question by reading Killer Instinct.

This is the second installment in the Naturals series.  Generally, I don't like to read books out of order, but this one was a page turner.  You can definitely read it before reading the first one.  But, I am confident that you will be like me and want to read the first one after reading this one.  Super good read!